An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 21 to the fort where we were introduced to our tour guide, Noel Mc- Carthy, a serving RDF captain with 1 BAR in Collins Barracks. At the fort Noel described its design and fortifications, pointing out the main buildings and explaining what they were used for. Our tour covered the four themes associated with the island: the island's 200-year military heritage; its penal heritage; its so- cial and monastic heritage; and its position as 'the island within Cork Harbour'. Next we visited the newly opened and fully landscaped Bas- tions 3 and 4, and were introduced to Mick O'Connor, a volunteer worker on the island. Mick grew up on the island, where his father, Dan, served with the Defence Forces from 1938-59. Mick had many a tale to tell, and personalised the tour as he told of his many youthful adventures on the island. Mick led us to the four 12-pounder saluting guns, down the tunnels to the battery observation post (BOP) and to a recently restored 6-inch gun; all new areas for visitors to see this year. The BOP looks out onto Cork Harbour, with Fort Davis to the east and Camden Fort Meagher to the west. Mick told us that these forts would have been used to send back fall-of-shot information for Fort Mitchel's two 6-inch guns. We viewed these restored guns, which are massive and have long tunnels leading out to them, with loading bays, crew quarters and magazines all giving life to the Noel and Mick's explanations of how they would have been crewed and loaded. We then visited Mitchel Hall and the former prison school, which now houses many rooms dedicated to different periods in the fort's history and includes early maps, details and nominal rolls of the 1921-era republican prisoners, as well as photos and details of the personalities and families that lived and served on the island. There is also a museum dedicated to the Defence Forces. After refreshments in the newly developed and expanded cafe we headed off to visit the new Gun Park, a roofed and glazed former prison exercise yard that now exhibits the fort's artillery collection. Here we met volunteers Patrick O'Riordan, a former CQMS with 4 AD Bty who fired many of the guns on display, and CQMS Michael O'Mahony (5 Bty, 1 Fd Arty Regt), who was also ex- perienced on the guns. As an architectural steel fabricator, Mick has been responsible for restoring some of the guns on display. The Gun Park houses many large pieces, including a rare 7-inch rifled canon from 1865-90; a 12-pounder gun and shield from Fort Carlisle; and a 4.7-inch coastal gun (1898-1902). Also on show are a 25-pounder, a 17-pounder anti-tank gun, and an 18-pounder, alongside more modern pieces such as a Bofors 40mm/L60 anti-aircraft gun; a 40mm/L70 with its Fly Catcher radar system, and a Naval Service L60. All of the artillery pieces have been beautifully restored, many of them by members of the RDF. Also on display is a Leyland Retriever Machinery Truck from 1940, recently received from Collins Barracks complete with its electric hacksaw, lathe, grinder, drill, forge and generator. There is also a searchlight and a full-size reconstruction of the inside of a BOP. We then visited the convict cells in the recently refurbished Punishment Block and Shell Store, where there is a mix of old and new, with eerie corridors from the old colonial period and the more modern cell blocks. On display are mannequins of caged and manacled convicts, complete with sound effects, and interac- tive exhibits where visitors can sail a ship into Cork Harbour or use the fort's guns to try to sink enemy ships. There is so much to see and explore that time passes quickly and we soon found ourselves meeting up with Stephen Morey who drove our weary bodies down to the pier. Stephen spent 31 years in the Naval Service and completed his NCOs course on Spike in 1983. On the ferry back Tom O'Neill told us about the Development Company's plans for the island. They have already done them- selves and the country proud by going a long way towards restor- ing this majestic fort to its former glory. Tom told us that the Spike Island Development Company wish- es to acknowledge the vital assistance and support it has received from the Department of Defence and members of the Defence Forces, especially regarding the military heritage element of the Spike Island project. In return, the Company has shown its willingness to help pre- serve, present and promote the military heritage of our country. We would highly recommend Spike Island as a tourist destination. to find out more about Spike Island visit www.spikeislandcork.ie. All-in-one tickets for the boat, fort and guided tour cost €18.00 (adult), €10.00 (child) or €45.00 (family - 2 adults & 2 children). The first ferry to the island departs daily from Kennedy Pier, Cobh, at 10.15am, and then hourly from 11am to 3pm. Return departure times are on the half-hour and may vary slightly depending on tides. Visitors should allow a minimum of 3 ½ hours to gain the full island experience.

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